When they appeared in the early '80s, Asia seemed to be a holdover from the… Read Full Bio ↴When they appeared in the early '80s, Asia seemed to be a holdover from the '70s, when supergroups and self-important progressive rockers reigned supreme. Featuring members of such seminal art rock bands as King Crimson (John Wetton), Emerson, Lake & Palmer (Carl Palmer), and Yes (Steve Howe), as well as Geoff Downes from the Buggles, Asia did feature stretches of indulgent instrumentals on their records. However, they also could be surprisingly poppy, and that is what brought them to the top of the charts with their debut album, Asia, and its hit single, "Heat of the Moment."

Alpha, their second album, also had a couple of hits ("Don't Cry" and "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes") but its follow-up, Astra, was a flop. The group disbanded in 1985, only to reunite in 1990 without John Wetton; John Payne took his place. After churning out a couple of new songs for a greatest-hits collection, the band hit the road, including two sold-out dates in front of 20,000 fans in Moscow. Thereafter, they toured sporadically and released Aqua (1992), Aria (1994), Arena (1996), Aura (2001), and Silent Nation (2004). The band's lineup reverted to its original form featuring Wetton, Palmer, Howe, and Downes for Phoenix (2008) and Omega (2010). In 2012, the original Asia lineup returned with the studio album XXX, featuring the single "Face on the Bridge." The following year, Howe announced his amicable departure from the group to pursue other projects, and in 2014 Asia released the album Gravitas, featuring new guitarist Sam Coulson. In January 2017, a month and a half before the scheduled beginning of an extensive U.S. tour by the band, John Wetton died from colon cancer at the age of 67.

Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

There is another band with the same name:
2) Asia was an excellent hard rock band with a drive for epic, pomp-filled rock tunes. The band was from Rapid City, South Dakota and should not be confused with the famous U.K. one, which sadly outshone them and ended up rendering the U.S. group highly obscure despite the U.S. one's critical support. Going for a loose instrumental energy similar to Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, their eventual line-up was made up of Michael English (vocals, bass, percussion), Larry Galbraith (vocals, guitars, mandolin), Mike Coates (guitars, mandolin, mellotron, piano, harpsichord, vocals), and Doug Johnson (percussion). They released two albums: 'Asia' (1979) and 'Armed to the Teeth' (1980).

Too Late
Asia Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I say, no way
You've gone and stepped across that fine line
I cried, you lied
I tried, maybe a thousand times before
I can't take no more

[Chorus]
Too late

You let the sun go down
Too late
You changed direction
Too late
For you to turn around
We tried everything

Move on, so long
Two side to every story
You told, good nights
Bad days, time to go out separate ways
I can't say no more

[Chorus: x 2]

Overall Meaning

The song "Too Late" by Asia is an emotional take on the ending of a relationship that has come to a point of no return. The lyrics are strong and descriptive, conveying the sadness and hurt felt by the singer. The first verse begins with a strong statement of rejection, "I say, no way / You've gone and stepped across that fine line". The line highlights the singer's dismay at the actions of their partner, which they perceive as being beyond acceptable boundaries.

The following lines, "I cried, you lied / I tried, maybe a thousand times before / I can't take no more", demonstrate the depth of the singer's emotions. The repetition of "I" emphasizes the first-person point of view which evokes a personal connection with the listener. The chorus emphasizes that the damage has been done and it's too late to fix things. The singer expresses the futility of trying to salvage something that's already broken: "Too late / You let the sun go down / Too late / You changed direction / Too late / For you to turn around / We tried everything".

The second verse turns towards moving on, the singer acknowledges the fact that there are two sides to every story; however, they seem to have given up hope of coming to a resolution. They say goodbye to the past and accept that it's time to go their separate ways. In conclusion, "Too Late" is a powerful and relatable song for anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation.

Line by Line Meaning

I say, no way
I refuse to accept what you're saying

You've gone and stepped across that fine line
You've crossed a boundary and gone too far

I cried, you lied
I showed emotion and you were dishonest

I tried, maybe a thousand times before
I attempted to fix this so many times in the past

I can't take no more
I can't handle this anymore

Too late
It's too far along now

You let the sun go down
You missed your chance

You changed direction
You made a different choice

For you to turn around
It's too late to go back now

We tried everything
We gave it our best effort

Move on, so long
It's time to leave and say goodbye

Two side to every story
There are always different perspectives

You told, good nights
You said goodbye

Bad days, time to go out separate ways
We can't stay together anymore

I can't say no more
I have nothing else to add

Too late
It's too far along now

You let the sun go down
You missed your chance

You changed direction
You made a different choice

For you to turn around
It's too late to go back now

We tried everything
We gave it our best effort

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ROBERT GEORGE DOWNES, ROBERT JAMES MOFFATT COCKBURN

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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